Little Moments
by Blazichu
Summary: A series of oneshots focusing on the relationship between characters. A reminder that, whether one is totally human, completely alien, or somewhere in between, you're never really alone. -Mainly Post-Cell, fairly Gohan-centric-
1. Introduction

_Thus the little minutes,_  
_Humble though they be,_  
_Make the mighty ages_  
_Of eternity._  
_--Excerpt from Julia Fletcher's "Little Things"

* * *

_

Unsurprisingly, this entire mess was Vegeta's fault.

It wasn't a problem in the extra-terrestrial sense, either; the trouble he'd invoked had to do with a much more dangerous group of beings: the media. He'd always had enough sense to keep from using the word "Saiyan" in those rare conversations he had with- or around- somebody outside of their "circle", for lack of a better way to put it…but that usually ended up in some pretty wild (and, occasionally downright hilarious) substitutes. However, one of these, when mixed with his new "name" for the older of the Son boys, made things sound particularly awkward- which the aforementioned media had a field day turning into something that sounded scandalous.

"The boy? Of course, he's one of mine; don't be a fool."

Yep, it was nearly always "boy" (or, once in a while "kid) now, which, Bulma later reminded Gohan, wasn't all that bad, considering the saiyan prince's usual vocabulary. She, after all, was still "woman"… besides, Vegeta had obviously meant it as a compliment, direct or not… despite the fact that it left the eldest demi-saiyan stuck in the Capsule Corp building for the time being, as they tried to figure a way to explain this away without telling too much. When she'd heard the actual quote, Bulma had roared with laughter, and, eventually, gotten the mortified young hybrid to follow suit. Now, however, they were brainstorming ways to clean up the mess that Vegeta had made…

Ironic, really, that someone who held the very position the media were pondering over would provide a solution.

Slightly confused and just as curious as ever, Trunks wandered in, clearly baffled as to why his mother and friend were talking so seriously. Usually, that only happened when they were discussing something all "sciency", or the former was helping the latter study; he, himself, was just beginning to see the inconvenience of that last one. So, without a second thought, he asked what was going on, receiving one stunned look (as Bulma had been deep in an explanation, and hadn't heard him come in) and one resigned one—not that that was anything new. Upon receiving an explanation, he didn't say anything right away, though. It might have seemed like he hadn't understood the situation, but he just didn't see anything wrong with it.

"So what? Gohan's always been my brother…"

There was a brief silence, then…

"Trunks, hon, you are a _genius_! You should help in our discussions _all_ of the time! Maybe you can sit in when your "big brother" is studying here, too…"

"…Bulma? No offence, but I think he may need to know some more…basic math before trying to understand statistics. You know, like being able to multiply by more than five?"

The blue haired scientist, having ignored the first part of the comment, frowned slightly, pausing to take this into account.

"Just you wait, Mr. Scholar," She finally said, with a teasing air about her, "My Trunks will be up to your level in no time flat!"

Gohan turned to look at Trunks, smiling slightly, as if to say "What do _you_ think about that?"

The younger hybrid, of course, had to answer such an indirect query aloud. "Uh…maybe. I dunno if daddy wants stuff like that gettin' in the way of training, though."

"Studying…get in the way of training?" Bulma looked as if she'd been slapped, as Gohan tried valiantly to keep from chuckling at the comparison this inspired. Eventually, he lost in this endeavor, but was able to keep it quiet enough to escape the enraged woman's attention. "What has your father been _teaching_ you? He thinks learning to _fight_ is more important than having an education?"

Trunks blinked at his mother, unsure how to respond to that; luckily, he was saved by his would-be-sibling, who was still fighting laughter as he spoke.

"Bulma… you sounded like my mom, just now."

To her credit, the scientist didn't _immediately_ look horrified. It wasn't that Chi-Chi was a bad mother- quite the opposite, actually, as Bulma had once expressed the desire for _her_ son to grow up to be like the older hybrid- but she was rather…overzealous, most famously, when it came to her eldest boy's study habits. After a moment's consideration, Bulma simply sighed, resigned to the fact that Gohan's words were startlingly truthful. Perhaps it was appropriate, as, just moments ago, the half-saiyan boys had been compared to siblings, that their mothers find some common ground, as well.

This wasn't the first time any of the three had considered it, but it _was_ the first time it had been vocalized: however strange, they _were_ a family… Albeit a family with several… _eccentric_ "uncles" (a green alien, an old pervert and, well, _Krillen_, among others) and a peculiar way of living, but a family nonetheless.

"Okay, guys, let's stop the small talk and get back to work—Chi-Chi's gonna kill me if we keep your big bro too long, Trunks."

"Woman! Where are the brat and the boy? They've wasted far too much time dawdling, today, those two slackers need to train!"

As Bulma yelled back at (notably, not "to") her husband, Gohan looked at Trunks, ruffling his lavender hair, smiling. Yeah- this was their family all right, and, in his own way, even Vegeta cared.


	2. Dozing

This was written awhile ago, like the last one, and it's fairly short, but it was fun to write. Hybrid bonding moments are so cute... (Particularly when "Mr. Piccolo" gets to play babysitter...)

* * *

"Piccolo? Please help…"

The Namekian suppressed a smirk, "I don't think so, kid."

"But…"

"You deserve it."

From where he lay- more or less trapped- flat on his back, Gohan blinked up at his friend. There was only one thing he could think to say: "What?"

Piccolo shook his head, trying not to look amused by the predicament that the hybrid had gotten himself into. Truthfully, it wasn't _all_ his fault; he'd been reading for one of his numerous assignments (though it was a wonder how he'd convinced his mother that outside was a good place to study a textbook) and had fallen asleep. It wasn't like anybody blamed him- nobody who knew, at least- since the tome referenced ancient history… and not anything interesting, either. So…could the demon really blame his young friend for making an excellent target? No, but that didn't mean he couldn't make the best of it.

It was typical that, though he'd sleepily acknowledged the arrival of his fellow demi-saiyans- both his actual brother and adoptive one- Gohan hadn't really _understood_ what they were up to, in his sleep-addled mind. Both boys had, apparently, decided that "big brother" had a good idea, and that this was the perfect time and place for a nap… Of course, this was the "best place" because _everybody_ knew that older siblings make the best pillows. It wasn't like this was a rare occurrence, either, which was what made the eldest hybrid's surprise, upon waking up fully, so comical.

Neither Goten nor Trunks were doing him any favors- both were sound asleep, and he'd never had the heart to disturb the slumbering children. Goten was snoozing with his arms wrapped around his brother's neck, and his head supported by the aforementioned sibling's shoulder. Trunks, by comparison, was curled up by Gohan's side, head tilted back to rest on the unoccupied shoulder, gripping the arm that lay over him- either having been tossed around the lavender-haired boy automatically, or sought out by the boy in question. This wasn't the usual arrangement, but who'd ever said that change was bad?

"Kid, after all the embarrassment _you_ put me through, I'd say it's about time _you_ got to 'enjoy' it."

The Namekian was fixed with a baffled stare. "But… Piccolo… that only happened, what was it, four times?"

Snorting, the demon found no trouble in correcting the half-saiyan, "That was when I was _first_ training you. I can't even remember how many times I put up with that while we were preparing for the androids' arrival."

It was telling that Gohan had no response to that.

This time, Piccolo _did_ smile…or rather, he smirked, pointedly walking away from his friend—though he was really only headed out of sight, curious to hear how this might play out.

"Have fun, kid."

"Mr. Piccolo!"

The Namekian found it far less amusing, about an hour later, when all three hybrids could be found, dozing again; the younger boys sitting on the older's lap, using both one another, and "big brother" to stay mostly-upright, and the eldest sitting cross-legged, leaning up against his mentor, head resting on the demon's shoulder.

Well…he deserved it!


End file.
